Kellogg’s evidence shows free swimming alone may not be enough
Today Kellogg’s welcomed the government’s free swimming initiative (Wednesday 1st April) but urged free swimming alone will not solve participation problems.
The announcement comes at the end of the year long Kellogg’s Free Swim promotion which provided compelling evidence to show there are often even bigger barriers to getting into the pool.
The promotion was a huge success with nearly one million free swim vouchers redeemed. But research amongst pool providers found that 48% felt the promotion attracted new swimmers, meaning more than half were already regular users of the pool.
As such, Kellogg’s is urging the government to further build on its free swim initiative to break down the social barriers to swimming at a local level.
Bruce Learner, CSR Manager at Kellogg’s, said: “This is a great start but it’s only part of the solution. Some children are scared of the water, some have body image issues and some don’t have a local swimming pool. Cost is not the only barrier and the government needs to adopt a more holistic approach if it’s going to get the UK active.”
Following on from the Free Swim promotion, Kellogg’s is today unveiling a further commitment of £240,000 a year over the next three years to develop projects that increase accessibility and support for swimming in the hardest to reach communities.
“Through our long term partnership with the Amateur Swimming Association, we have seen so many lives changed by local swimming projects that have made swimming fun again for families,” added Bruce Learner. “Kellogg’s has funded grassroots schemes including transport in rural areas, developed swim sessions for children with weight issues as well as having closed sessions for women and children from minority communities presently at risk of exclusion due to their religious or ethnic constraints. These projects have been warmly received locally and we urge the government to make free swimming the first of many initiatives to increase participation.”
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For more information, please contact Kate Hannah at Kellogg’s press office on 0161 869 5035.
Notes to Editors:
Case study - Kellogg’s Swim Active in the West Midlands
Kellogg’s worked in partnership with West Midland Swimming to understand the barriers to participation in the community of Wolverhampton. The twelve month pilot project focussed on three target groups, families where children were not reaching National Curriculum minimum Swimming level of 25 metres, those with weight issues - particularly those considered obese or at danger of becoming so and women and children from BME communities presently at risk of exclusion due to their religious or ethnic constraints.
Through the support of PCT school nurses, families/children with weight issues were identified. Generally more likely to lead ever increasing sedentary lifestyles, participants were encouraged to attend the weekly hour-long sessions on a regular basis. A sensitive approach was adopted to overcome issues of size-embarrassment and participants were encouraged to wear attire in which they felt comfortable eg shorts/t-shirts if they preferred to.
In acknowledging that many BME women are excluded from public swimming sessions because of the ethnical or religious beliefs, it is a knock-on effect that children from these groups are also of lower swimming ability. Sessions were therefore provided with female only staff in a sheltered, private environment. Women were encouraged to dress in a manor that satisfied their strict modesty restrictions but that remained within the parameters of safety.
The project also recruited people from the sessions to train as swimming teachers – two mothers have continued to volunteer their services back into subsequent Swim Active sessions benefitting other families and employment opportunities have been made available.
The project was run in partnership with West Midland Swimming, Wolverhampton City Council supported by Wolverhampton PCT and funded jointly by Kellogg’s, National Sport Foundation and Wolverhampton’s New Deal for Communities (NDC) Regeneration Scheme with substantial in-kind investment from each of the key partners.
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